Rune Central

Does anyone know of a laptop/notebook computer model that they just fell in love with? In particular, that you also liked the built-in pointing device and felt very comfortable with it?

The reason I ask is that I am considering get a couple of notebook computers and the ones I really liked in the past are discontinued.

In the past I've had several different models. The Thinkpads and Toshibas with the trackpoint make my finger sore after a while and my personal experience with touchpads is that I despise them because if your palm touches it while typing it moves the cursor.

I've had 2 pointing devices that I thought ruled ... I had a Fujitsu C370 notebook with something called the Ergotrak, which was a inch wide "button" that served as the pointing device and it was great (but not perfect) and the awesome front mounted rollball on a NEC Versa I had long ago which was located not on the keyboard panel but the front right where your thumb rests and it ruled.

Anyway, there must be someone out there with a laptop that they love including the pointing device.

Or am I wrong and all laptops suck?

I love my PowerBook G4 667/DVI with Mac OS X Jaguar. I don't like to use the trackpad it slows me down.

I use a Kensington Wireless Studio Mouse http://www.kensington.com/html/1510.html (Home) and a Kensington Pocket Mouse Pro http://www.kensington.com/html/1211.html (Work). Both are optical and are better than the one button crap from Apple.



Have you considered Apple's new PowerBook Models?



My co-worker uses a ThinkPad with what I call the "Pencil Eraser" she has gotten used to it. And she is less productive. I still like my wireless though.



I have never used these laptops. Was the thickness of these laptops any different from what is shipping now?



Like I said, I love my PBG4, but I can't live without my Studio mouse.



Only PC laptops suck J/K

Before I purchased my PBG4 I was looking at Dell's Inspirion 8200.
When I looked at the price differences between what is standard on Apple's Powerbooks and what I needed to add to Dell's Laptops. I found that the Powerbook was the right decision for me.
I can still run/share/and exchange my PC files and apps on my PBG4 with Virtual PC 6 and Windows XP Pro. http://www.connectix.com/index_mac.html. Mac OS X has true Mulittasking, Protected Memory, Apache, PHP, CGI, MySQL, X11, Free-BSD and GCC, Samba, Python, RTP/RSTP, AES-128 Encription, Quartz Extreme, Firewire port, DVI port (Handy Dandy), Super Drive. It's a very powerful, thin, laptop.

Sorry about the Pro-Apple post Baker. I'm not trying to start a Mac/PC war here.

Just throwing in my 2¢

No need to apologize Ronin, you are a loyal Mac user and that's what you like.

I am trying to find advice on a notebook/laptop with a good built-in pointing device that they like. I remember in the past having laptops with great pointing devices, relaxing on the couch relaxing and using the computer like others would use a book ... and even with a great external optical mouse you cannot do that.

Truth be told, I would be willing to switch platforms if the pointing device was available.

I have a very difficult time understanding why truly awesome pointing devices have been abandoned in favor of --- in my experience --- absolutely useless ones. The TrackPoint on IBM/Toshibas are barely ok, but touchpads --- in my experience are simply godaweful.

I think I know why ... but it makes me upset ... those touchpads were viewed as "cool" by idiots who never do anything "real" with a computer ... so now the whole world is ruled by a pointing device that dumb asses think is cool. And the second factor is the touchpads have no moving parts so servicing and support issues don't exist.

Yes, I second your opinion on the phpbb. I am increasingly impressed as I continue using it.

Ronin, I'm not a blindly loyal Windows user (I'm not very pleased with how things are heading and I don't believe monopolies serve the public good in the long term) and I value your opinion and respect the fact you want to spread the word about something you believe in.

Check this out.
http://gyration.com/

I'll reply to the rest tomorrow. Right now I have to sleep. ZzZzzzz

Hiya Baker,

I have been using a Toshiba 400Mhz for the past 3 years running dual boot linux/Win98. It has the awful pencil eraser mouse which I hate but I always planned on using an external mouse anyways. I also don't like the modem phone jack which is very fragile and I don't know how it ever kept from braking off. Being that it is 3 years old and therefore pretty outdated it is nothing special by todays standards but has always worked very well. But the best thing that I really like about Toshiba is their customer service. With the extended warranty I had a full 3 years of complete coverage (unless I dropped the thing down the stairs of course) but the battery was only covered the first year. Before the first year was up my battery was only at about half of it's capacity (an hour at the most because I used it to death) so they sent me a new one without any problem and the new battery had more than double the capacity of the orignal (4 hours+).

Then I received a letter about a class action lawsuit against Toshiba for owners of specific lap tops models of which mine was indicated. The lawsuit was because people were getting ocassional data corruption when writing to the floppy. I personally never had a problem with it but I sent the form back anyway and then forgot about it. Several months later I was contacted by toshiba with regards to correcting the situation. I believe they gave me a choice of either a software update, sending the computer to them for a chip upgrade, receiving an external pcmcia floppy, or a gift certificate for $225 towards Toshiba products. I never did reply to that letter but a few months later I received the software update, then the $225 certificate, then not much longer after that I got a check for $400+ in compensation to boot!
Needless to say they went out of their way to make things right.

P.S. I also convinced my mom to get a Toshiba too (2Ghz Amd, DVD/Cd-RW, touch pad mouse) with which she is also very satisfied with.

MagnesiuM

_________________
MagnesiuM

Slot for president!

Nice to hear from you, Mag.



I must admit I find it quite irritating that my ideal laptop exists only in the past. The future is supposed to better than the past.



Yes, but that's gay. That means that they are doing inadequate job of producing a fully functional laptop. There are least 2 decent laptop pointing devices I used in the past.

I think the problem is that most laptops are purchased by corporations. Corporations usually don't care a damn about usability and usually they have a contract with a supplier and buy whatever they sell.

My (2000) Fujitsu with the Ergotrak was good for mouse use, on rare occasions I would think about grabbing an external mouse ... but only when doing something strange like making graphics. Going back even further, my (1996) NEC Versa with a tiny rollball right where your thumb rests, I never once considered using a mouse ... in fact, I liked it more than a mouse.

I must admit I was hoping that someone might say something like X computer with X software has a remarkably easy to control touchpad.

Well, one day they will wake up but I'm not sure what will cause them to do so.
[/quote]